Wine Reviews & Recommendations

Excellent 2005 Vintage
California Chardonnay

This month, a survey of excellent 2005 California Chardonnays. The vintage yielded finely flavored, even elegant versions of the varietal, and most of these releases are now in the marketplace.

Below I have provided a broad range of selections that span geographical regions of origin, styles, price points, and brands (from well-known to little known).

To help you judge the relative richness of these wines, I have listed them in terms of progressive richness (not alphabetically as I normally do), meaning that the lightest are listed first, the fullest last.

California Chardonnay Recommendations

Twotone Farm
2005 CHARDONNAY
CALIFORNIA
$8-$10

Screw cap. Supple, full bodied, and relatively complex in style; a wine with toasty, citrusy character, with overtones of apple, peach, and vanilla, and a long finish. Best version yet of this wine. Drink through 2008.

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Clos La Chance
2005 CHARDONNAY
MONTEREY COUNTY
$12-$14

Screw cap. Full bodied, round, crisp, and very fruity in style, tasting of peach, pineapple, roasted nut, and lemon peel. Unwooded. 2,238 cases. Drink through 2008.

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Chalone Vineyard
2005 CHARDONNAY
MONTEREY COUNTY
$12-$14

Excellent: finely flavored, full bodied, moderate in depth, with excellent balance and length. It tastes of baked bread, honey, pear, apple, and toast. 110,000 cases. Drink through 2008.

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Wente Vineyards
2005 CHARDONNAY
LIVERMORE VALLEY
$12-$14

This is a fruity, full bodied, distinctively flavored Chardonnay (peach, grapefruit, pear, apple, lemon peel), that is well balanced and medium long on the finish. 20,000 cases. Great value. Drink through 2008.

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Bernardus
2005 CHARDONNAY
MONTEREY COUNTY
$18-$20

Supple and complex in style, this is a fine Chardonnay at the price. It is full bodied, moderately intense in flavor, and long on the finish, tasting of apple, peach, roasted nut, spicy oak, and toast. 26,804 cases. Drink through 2008.

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Frog's Leap
2005 CHARDONNAY
NAPA VALLEY
$24-$26

Full bodied, quite fruity in character (apple, lemon peel, lime), with light oakiness (toast, oak), and a medium long finish. Excellent value. 9,500 cases. Drink through 2008.

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Monticello Vineyards
2005 CHARDONNAY
OAK KNOLL DISTRICT
$26-$28

Fine quality Chardonnay, in a supple, full bodied, moderately rich style, with a long finish, tasting of apple, orange blossom, roasted nut, lime, and lemon peel. Drink through 2008.

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Buehler Vineyards
2005 CHARDONNAY, RESERVE
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
$20-$22

A supple, full bodied Chardonnay that is moderately complex in character (pineapple, roasted nut, vanilla, lemon peel), and well balanced, with a medium long finish. Wonderful value. 450 cases. Drink through 2008.

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Morgan
2005 CHARDONNAY
HIGHLAND, SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
$23-$25

An elegant, complex Chardonnay, that is full bodied, lightly oaked, crisp, and long on the finish, tasting of peach, vanilla, toast, pear, and roasted nut. 8,000 cases. Drink through 2009.

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White Oak
2005 CHARDONNAY
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
$20-$22

Ripely flavored and complex in style, this is a terrific wine at the price. It is full bodied, supple in texture, and long on the palate, tasting of pineapple, roasted nut, lemon peel, honey, and spicy oak. Drink through 2009.

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Stonestreet
2005 CHARDONNAY
ALEXANDER VALLEY
$30-$32

Excellent! A full bodied, supple Chardonnay, that is finely flavored, crisp, and long on the finish, tasting of apple, pear, roasted nut, vanilla, and pink grapefruit. Drink through 2009.

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Hartford Court
2005 CHARDONNAY
FOUR HEARTS VINEYARDS
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
$37-$40

An elegantly flavored, full bodied Chardonnay, that is finely flavored and long on the palate, with a persistent finish, tasting of pear, new oak, peach, toast, and pink grapefruit. 100% barrel fermented and 100% malolactic. Drink through 2008.

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Oakville Ranch
2005 CHARDONNAY
NAPA VALLEY
$40-$42

Best-ever Chardonnay from this winery. It is fragrant and complex in aroma (pear, toast, orange peel, vanilla, roasted nut), and full bodied, supple, fairly rich, and long on the palate, with a persistent finish. 580 cases. Drink through 2008.

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Patz & Hall
2005 CHARDONNAY
HYDE VYD., CARNEROS
$50-$53

Fine Chardonnay, in a full, fruity style; it is supple, crisp, and long on the palate, with a long finish, tasting of lime, pear, toast, vanilla, and roasted nut. Unfiltered. Drink through 2008.

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Kendall-Jackson
* 2005 CHARDONNAY, SECO HIGHLANDS, ARROYO SECO, $28-$30
* 2005 CHARDONNAY, CAMELOT HIGHLANDS, SANTA MARIA VALLEY, $28-$30

Both excellent bottlings. The Seco Highlands is supple and full bodied, with moderate richness, good balance, and a very long finish, tasting of peach, orange blossom, roasted nut, lemon peel, and vanilla. 570 cases. The Camelot Highlands is a complex, fleshy, finely flavored Chardonnay, that is long and well balanced on the palate, with a persistent finish, tasting of roasted nut, vanilla, pineapple, lemon peel, and pink grapefruit. Great value. 3,242 cases. Drink through 2008.

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Nickel & Nickel
* 2005 CHARDONNAY, TRUCHARD VINEYARD, CARNEROS, NAPA VALLEY, $40-$43
* 2005 CHARDONNAY, MEDINA VINEYARD, RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY, $41-$44
* 2005 CHARDONNAY, SEARBY VINEYARD, RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY, $41-$44

A trio of fine Chardonnays, of which the Truchard is the most luscious in style. It is a full bodied, ripely flavored Chardonnay, with rich fruitiness (pineapple, pear, lemon) and overtones of clove, toast, baked bread, and vanilla. Long aftertaste. 2,527 cases. The Medina is supple and crisp, with moderate richness, complex flavors (orange blossom, pear, roasted nut, toasted oak ), very good balance, and a medium long finish. 1,235 cases. The Searby is finer still: full bodied, crisp, and finely balanced, with elegant, complex flavors and a long finish, tasting of peach, roasted nut, linden, and spicy oak. 3,611 cases. Drink through 2008.

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Iron Horse
2005 CHARDONNAY
RUED CLONE, SONOMA COUNTY
GREEN VALLEY, $38-$41

Fine Chardonnay. Extremely fruity in style, with evident complexity. It is aromatic (lime, apple, pineapple), full bodied, crisp, and very long on the finish, with overtones of toast, roasted nut, and baked bread. 235 cases. Drink through 2008.

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Morgan – Santa Lucia Highlands
* 2005 CHARDONNAY, ROSELLA'S VINEYARD, $43-$45
* 2005 CHARDONNAY, DOUBLE L VINEYARD, $43-$45

Two exceptional Chardonnays—Rosella’s is fleshy, full bodied, and somewhat powerful in style; a Chardonnay with good depth and a long finish, tasting of lime, vanilla, roasted nut, apple, and spicy oak. 400 cases; Double L is in a full, elegant style. It is aromatic, intensely flavored (peach, baked bread, vanilla, lemon peel, grapefruit, honeysuckle), and crisp and long on the finish. 650 cases. Drink through 2010.

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-- RW

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